Thu 29 Mar 2012 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A Facebook page has sprung up to celebrate Carmen’s life after her personal profile was taken down by the social media site overnight, when it became the centre of a spat over the manner in which Carmen’s memory is preserved. Carmen’s original profile was set up and administered by Sydney woman Pindi Hurring, at Carmen’s request. Since Carmen’s death it has been the centre of both tributes for Carmen and the sharing of pictures and memories. It has also seen escalating criticism, allegations and squabbles about the emergence of the Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust, which came to a head recently. While that issue has been covered in a seperate news story, Hurring claims people involved in the Trust pressured Facebook to close down Carmen’s profile. “I did seek legal advice yesterday but this low act has come overnight which has taken all of the late Carmen’s messages and photos that were so dear to her,” Hurring tells GayNZ.com Daily News. Hurring alleges she was pressured by Trust members to hand over the password for the profile, but refused, as she believed Carmen wished her to remain its administrator. She says she promised Carmen she would continue to maintain her profile page with respect and peace, after her death. “Even when Carmen was in hospital she would call me to ask if I would bring my machine (laptop) to read her the messages. She replied some days to anything up to 50 messages and still found time to update her family, friends and fans on Facebook.” ‘Memories of Carmen Rupe’ has been set up by people unhappy at the original profile page’s closure, who have posted: “Let's get back to a page that celebrates the positive aspect of Carmen's wonderful journey and the love of her friends and fans.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 29th March 2012 - 10:58pm